Styrofoam has advantages of good heat insulation and easy transportation due to its light weight, but also has disadvantages of weak durability.
The weak durability means that Styrofoam can be easily processed. Also, since Styrofoam can be easily moved due to the light weight, the embossment of 3-dimensional shape such as protruding column, character, intaglio, and relieve can be easily carried out. Therefore, it is preferable that Styrofoam is processed as a 3-dimensional panel.
In order to use the embossed Styrofoam as a decorative panel, the durability should be reinforced. The durability may be obtained by attaching a metal plate having a reinforcing core onto a rear side of Styrofoam or by applying polygarde or silicon onto a surface of Styrofoam.
The 3-dimensional decorative finishing is generally achieved by using wood or attaching field stones or artificial stones onto a wall. However, there are drawbacks of increased material costs and hard machining of the material.